Android market share grows at an amazing pace, Apple’s hardly at all; no one notices
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A brief overview on Engadget last week of some market share figures presented by comScore hid some amazing results for Android. In Engadget’s article and subsequent posts around the internet, people noted that the “point changes” were fairly minor, and pointed to Microsoft’s 4-point loss as the biggest detail of note. Android gained 4-points, largely
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Android market share grows at an amazing pace, Apple’s hardly at all; no one notices
What Does The Google Apps Marketplace Mean For Android?
Just a few hours ago, Google launched their Google App Marketplace with over 50 vendors ready to serve up a host of applications that integrate directly with Google services. A bold move for sure, but one that may have a larger impact on Android than at first glance. Obviously the App Marketplace targets the small to medium sized business model. These are the same businesses that often times will have people wearing multiple hats in the workplace. Your outside sales manager may also be heading up your marketing team. Your IT guy? Perhaps he’s the janitor. These types of people are usually issued company handsets and are kept within the working environment regardless of where they are. For so long, RIM’s Blackberry has dominated this market (and larger business as well), but is Google setting Android up to change that? By introducing the Apps Marketplace, Google has thrown the doors wide open for Android to successfully compete in this arena. Google Docs has been around for awhile, and while some businesses have successfully made the switch from Microsoft Office, the critical element of a mobile integration has been missing. With the launch of Apps Marketplace, Google has showed that they are serious about being involved within the B2B market. Suddenly, the switch to Android handsets for business seems much more logical than any other mobile OS. A handful of new apps for business that tightly merge Android into the business world and meeting the needs of this new demographic at a reasonable cost may be the kind of combination that has more decision makers taking an interest. In what ways can Android benefit from this? Simple… exposure. I believe that more people don’t have Android devices because they don’t know about them. Apple doesn’t sell (read: market) iPhone OS, they sell the iPhone hardware and experience. RIM doesn’t sell the Blackberry OS, they sell the business integration. What does Android sell? None of it. With five different flavors of Android on the market across dozens of devices, how can it be sold? Again, the answer is simple… Google Apps Marketplace offering integration with a mobile OS for businesses. Next, toss in Chromium OS and Google will have an entire suite of solutions (with literally thousands of partners) to customize a solution for any business. Might We Suggest… Is Google Serious About Maturing the Android Market? With all the different seemingly conflicting reports about developers fleeing both the iPhone app store and the Android Market, the question remains for those who are committed to the Android platform…
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What Does The Google Apps Marketplace Mean For Android?
Buzz Widget Gives Something to Buzz About
For those of you who Android users who play have Google Buzz accounts, there is now an easier and faster way to do it . Google has released a home screen widget that allows you to buzz on the spot. The widget has four buttons, Buzz icon take you to Buzz in the Browser, a Post A Buzz text box, Camera icon to snap a photo, and a Gallery icon to select pictures on your SD card. It is available for Android 1.6 and up . Personally, it is a lot faster to use the widget, than to open Maps or the Browser. It also includes the ability to remove or change your location and post a public or private Buzz. Search Google Buzz in the Market to download. Question: Do you use Google Buzz? Might We Suggest… Google Gets Social With New “Google Buzz” Today, February 9th, 2010, Google has yet another release for us(Android Users) that extends the abilities of your Android Device and Gmail account. This free service is called Google Buzz and is …
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Buzz Widget Gives Something to Buzz About
Google releases Orkut for Android with live folders, photo uploads, and notifications
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Orkut is now available on Android phones using version 1.6 or higher. Google today announced that its social networking website now has an official Android app to keep Orkut friends connected through mobile devices. I’ve never used Orkut because the site never really took off in the U.S., but Orkut is still popular among Brazilians and
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Google releases Orkut for Android with live folders, photo uploads, and notifications
The Great Debate: Motorola Droid or Nexus One?
Okay, so I have been sitting on the sidelines hearing about all the buzz to the lead up to the T-Mobile banded Nexus One and now it looks as if those of us on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon will get a little Nexus love very soon. While I am not psyched about it being a touch screen only device, the killer app that may be swaying me is Swype. I have been using this nifty keyboard app on my Droid for two weeks and am amazed at how accurate and easy it is. In fact, I rarely even use the HW keyboard, not that I used it that much before. Further, I think the Motorola Roi tablet would be a great companion to the Droid on Verizon. But I digress. The Nexus One specs have almost become legend because of the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Its WVGA AMOLED display makes my beloved Droid seem like an outdated Startac by comparison, and only after three months no less! As my Android Guys compadres know, I am usually the first to jump on the technology bandwagon and gleefully pay the “geek” tax that comes with buying the latest-and-greatest both financially and emotionally; but the Nexus One just doesn’t seem to have the pop that the Droid had. Now I know, most out there think the Droid is an ugly, flat black piece of geekery that only us pocket protected IT guys use but I really like the sleek clean lines and its sharp angles. Not to mention the hardware keyboard, warts and all. I am not interested in live wallpapers, Google Earth, or anything else that steals power away from the 1Ghz processor. I just want it to be fast and virtually indestructible as witnessed in Google’s own manufacturing videos . So for me, I guess I may have just talked myself into the Nexus One. I have already been feeling my Droid slowing down the longer I have it and for some reason it has been losing its icons when I slide the screen up to expose the keyboard. If the Android 2.1 update does not fix this problem it may be going half way out the door anyway. What do you think? Am I the only one who is jonesing for the N1 when it hits the Big Three carriers? Might We Suggest… Have Keyboard, Will Travel: Android Phones Capable of Using USB Keyboard.
Image Credit: Andrew de Quincey
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The Great Debate: Motorola Droid or Nexus One?
Google Maps for mobile 4.1 adds Live Wallpapers, Latitude widget, more
Google have pushed out Google Maps for mobile 4.1, for Android devices running 1.6 or higher. Among the changes are a new Latitude widget for the Android homescreen, the ability to set a map as the Live Wallpaper, and the ability to swipe through multiple pages of search results. The Latitude widget shows the people listed as your friends who are geographically closest to you, while the Live Wallpaper – which obviously requires a device running Android 2.1 right now – lets you set a regular map, satellite map or topographical map (complete with optional traffic data) as your homescreen wallpaper. That map automatically moves as you do, using GPS and aGPS to track your position. It certainly looks good, though it has the potential to really hammer both your battery life and data connection. Google have also reworked the way search results are presented, putting all the information on one page rather than splitting it across multiple tabs, and allowing you to swipe from side to side to see more details. Finally, you can switch between multiple Google accounts on the one device, so if you have a personal Buzz account and a work Buzz account (or perhaps use Latitude with one or both) you can see results for either. If you’ve an Android device running OS 1.6 or above, you can update your version of Google Maps for mobile by heading into the Android Market and checking the Downloads tab.
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Google Maps for mobile 4.1 adds Live Wallpapers, Latitude widget, more
Google Nexus One is coming to Sprint
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And Sprint makes four! The Google Nexus One will soon be available on every major U.S. cellular provider, as Sprint has confirmed that it will carry the device “soon.” One day after Google began offering the Nexus One on AT&T, Sprint executive Fared Adib said, “[The] Nexus One is a powerful device that belongs on a
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Google Nexus One is coming to Sprint
Tim Bray My Android Doppelganger
Tim Bray earlier this week joined Google as an Android developer advocate and his statements toward the mobile landscape and why he made the move echo my own sentiments as to why I support Android & being myself an Android advocate. Tim Bray is a prominent figure being the co-inventor of the XML Web standard & working at Sun Microsystems / Oracle before joining Google. He points out on his site why he “saw the light” & joined Google & Android against the “Dark Side”: Google needs, and is committed to, Android; it’s not just a hobby. The Android user experience is very good and, more important, getting better fast. It’s developer-friendly; the barriers to entry are very low for the several million people on the planet who are comfy with the java programming language. The APIs are pretty good in my experience, and even more important, complete. Near as I can tell, there’s nothing interesting the phones can do that’s not exposed through some API or other. Anyone can build any hardware they want around the Android software; no approval required. Anyone can sell any program they write via the Android Market; no approval required. It’s open-source. The smartphone arena where Android plays is extra interesting right now, with space for radical experimentation both on the technology and business fronts. The mobile space has had a huge impact in the emerging economies of the less-developed world and I think that’s just getting started. I want to be part of that story and Android seems like the right software platform for it. I’ll enjoy competing with Apple. He goes on to say about Apple & the iPhone what sounds like my own ranting over the years. “ The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger. I hate it. I hate it even though the iPhone hardware and software are great, because freedom’s not just another word for anything, nor is it an optional ingredient. The big thing about the Web isn’t the technology, it’s that it’s the first-ever platform without a vendor. From that follows almost everything that matters, and it matters a lot now, to a huge number of people. It’s the only kind of platform I want to help build. Apple apparently thinks you can have the benefits of the Internet while at the same time controlling what programs can be run and what parts of the stack can be accessed and what developers can say to each other. I think they’re wrong and see this job as a chance to help prove it .” I don’t think he would disagree with my assertion made at SMX West earlier this month that supporting Android is like avoiding the Berlin Wall of the iPhone App Store – so look-wise beyond the strong chin we may not be the same, but he calls it as he sees it, which is what I have been saying on GAB and conferences for well over a year now. Tim Bray My Android Doppelganger Post from: Google And Blog
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Tim Bray My Android Doppelganger
A quick look at Gestures Search on Android 1.6
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Following the rollout map of recent product debuts, Google has made an app previously useable only on Android 2.0 work on Android 1.6. Google Gesture Search now supports phones that have Donut, including the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch phones. The Gestures app makes it possible for Android users to quickly search their contacts by performing swipes
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A quick look at Gestures Search on Android 1.6
Google Denied Trademark on Android Nexus One
Reports are coming in today that the Patent and Trademark Office has rejected Google’s request to trademark the name “Nexus One”. The “Nexus One” moniker was ruled too similar to Integra Telecom’s own registered trademark for its Nexus fixed bandwidth integrated voice and internet T1 product. Mike Rogoway, of Portland’s The Oregonian newspaper, got the following statement from Integra: “We appreciate that the PTO is protecting our trademark rights. Integra has over $60 Million in annual revenue associated with our Nexus brand and it represents millions of new revenue for the company each year. Google hasn’t contacted us since the PTO issued its objection but we hope we can work together to achieve our respective business goals.” Could a name change be in the making? Fortunately for Google “Nexus One” isn’t stamped anywhere on the device. I doubt that will happen, Google will probably buy it from Integra unless the settlement offer is insane. [via readwriteweb ]
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Google Denied Trademark on Android Nexus One
